


Dry Your Eyes

by Catheryne (bettythetl)



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-29
Updated: 2006-07-29
Packaged: 2017-10-23 08:44:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettythetl/pseuds/Catheryne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angel is sent back in time to fix what he should have all those years ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dry Your Eyes

Angel swung his sword at the chanting demon and his favorite blade struck true, slicing through the demon's neck and effectively decapitating it. Too bad it didn't effectively kill it. The dark haired vampire heard more chanting and looked down in shock and a trace of revulsion to see the severed head of the blue demon chanting away. This time, he spoke in Latin and Angel understood him. Well, partly. He caught a few words here and there, namely, 'vampire' 'back' 'time' 'repair' 'damaged' 'boy'. The vampire's face screwed up in confusion and he was just about to lower his sword through the head's forehead when he felt a jerk in his lower back and he closed his eyes to try and banish the pain.

When Angel opened his eyes, the pain was gone, but...so was the demon. And the underground temple he had been in. He looked down at his right hand and made a little noise of surprise. His favorite sword was gone! He cautiously looked around and made out what he could through the long hair covering his eyes. _Wait. Hair covering my eyes? Oh. Shit._ he thought, brushing his hair out of the way, tucking it behind his ear. He heard whimpering from the corner just across the room and his senses went on alert to check if anyone else was in the room. He could smell another vampire, other than himself of course, and it smelled familiar. His face did that confused scrunchy thing again as he tried to place the scent while slowly making his way across the room.

The whimpering got louder as he got closer and the little vampire, a month old fledge by the smell, curled up tighter into a ball. Angel made small crooning noises, trying to calm what he now saw was a young male vampire. "Shh, boy. It's alright. Promise I won't 'urt ya..." he whispered, surprised slightly at the sound of his old brogue in his voice.

The little vampire had his head buried underneath his arms as if shielding it so he couldn't get a good look at his face, but he gently touched a small shoulder as he crouched next to the little vampire with dark blond hair, hissing slightly when his hand came away bloody. He took a good look at the back presented to him and started growling as he realized that the little vampire had been beaten to within an inch of his unlife.

His shirt stuck to his body, using his blood as an adhesive to bind it. His long fingered, pale left hand was covered in blood and all five fingers were bent at odd angles, indicating their broken status. The little body was shaking nigh uncontrollably and small whimpers reached Angel's ears over his own growling. He stopped growling as he realized that was what had prompted the renewed shaking. Purring took the place of the growling as Angel leaned forward precariously on the balls of his feet, trying not to startle the frightened creature.

He reached a hand out and gently stroked the hair at the nape of the exposed neck and was surprised when his demon didn't come to the forefront and demand he bite the cool flesh beneath his fingers. Then a thought struck him. His demon _couldn't_ come out. Not if he'd taken the place, however momentarily, of the Angelus of this time because they would essentially cancel each other out until he left. _If_ he left. He swallowed his fear at that and turned his mind once more to the cowering figure before him.

Angel gently pulled the small, huddled figure into his arms and rocked him, purring and murmuring nonsensical words of comfort. He smelled salty tears and looked down, only to be shocked at the clear cerulean eyes staring back at him. "Oh, Will," he breathed and his heart cracked just a little at the look in those beautiful eyes. There was fear, sure, but there was also adoration and...love, hidden behind everything else.

"Sire?" Will asked softly, his voice uncertain.

Angel wanted so badly to tell him, no, I'm not your Sire. I'm just a fool pretending to be him...but he just couldn't. There was so much love and the need to trust in those eyes that Angel just couldn't betray him like that. Instead, he said, "Dry your eyes, Little One. Always remember this moment. No matter how bad things may get, or how terrible I am to you. Remember. This. Moment. And _never_ forget what I tell you now. Never forget...that I love you." Will's gasp was followed by a soft sob and Angel held him closer to his chest. "Shh, Little One. It's true. I love you. Ever since the first...No, that's not right. I think I'd have loved you even if I'd never met you."

A flicker of distrust flitted across Will's eyes and so Angel did the only thing he could to try and convince him without words. He lowered his head, searched Will's wide blue eyes and softly, chastely pressed their lips together. The kiss was soft and sweet, not demanding and closed mouthed. It was over almost as soon as it began and the little blond in his arms whispered against his chest after his head had been placed back there, "I love you, too, Sire."

Angel choked back his own tears as he gently brushed away Will's with the pads of each thumb. As his Childe looked up at him with just love shining in his eyes, Angel felt that jerk in his lower back again and despair washed through him. Hurriedly he said as he nearly crushed Will in his embrace, "Never forget, Will. Never forget that I love...you..." Soon he blacked out from the pain and felt Will slip from his arms as he was plunged into darkness.

"Will!" he cried out as he woke and looked up to see a pair of big blue eyes above him. He almost reached for the owner of those eyes when he realized that it wasn't Will. Wesley stood over him, concern etched clearly across his face and in his eyes as he surveyed Angel.

"Are you in any pain, Angel?" the Englishman asked.

Angel was about to shake his head no when he heard himself saying, "None that you could help with my friend..." He sat up with difficulty, groaning as it made his head pound. "Ohh...What the hell happened?" he asked with a soft moan of pain.

Wesley looked decidedly uncomfortable with the question and Cordelia, who Angel now noticed hovering next to the other side of his bed, spoke for him, "Wes couldn't see as well as you, what with the lack of good vampire vision, and so he clocked you on the back of the head and you went down. Been out for a few hours now. Kept mumbling about loving someone and never forgetting."

Shock coursed through him at his co-worker's words and Angel buried his face in his hands. _It was all a dream. He's not going to remember..._ Not that it'd change anything, a little voice reminded him bitterly. He chose to ignore that and looked up at Cordelia who was looking concerned now, too. He tried to smile but knew that it probably looked more like a grimace. "I'm fine guys. Really, I am," he added at their skeptical looks. He shook his head slightly and turned away from them, burrowing into his pillow and saying, "Look, just let me sleep for a few hours. I'll be fine if I just sleep it off."

They still didn't look convinced that would work, but Angel pretended to fall asleep right away and his tactic worked because they made their way upstairs to the offices and let him be. Once he was sure the elevator had stopped upstairs, he rolled over onto his back and threw his left arm over his eyes. He felt a wet drop of water roll down his temple into his hair and another soon followed. He took his arm away from his eyes and curled up on his side around his pillow again, shivers coursing through him as he silently cried for a love he would never know.

He must have fallen asleep because when he opened sore eyes, it was to the sound of shouting upstairs. Blinking slightly, he padded his way to the elevator, rubbing at his eyes he whole way up.

"Jest lemme see 'im! I jus' wanna see 'im. That's all. Not gonna hurt him. Please?" a low, desperate voice pleaded with someone and Angel rushed into the front room, only to stop dead in the doorway.

"Will?" he whispered, shock making him think he was dreaming.

Wesley and Cordelia turned to look at their employer at the sound of his voice and the blue eyed vampire in front of them locked eyes with the same man the two humans were looking at as he said softly, "Yes...it's me."

Angel was itching to take him in his arms, but just couldn't in front of Cordy and Wes, so he said, "Guys, can I have a minute alone with...W...him?" They opened their mouths to protest but saw he wasn't even looking at them. Cordy closed her mouth and pulled Wesley by the arm into one of the offices and shut the door.

The two vampires just stood there, watching each other for what felt like eternity before Spike dropped his eyes. Angel saw this and took a step closer. When the blond didn't tense up or back away, Angel took that as encouragement and kept moving forward until he was standing just in front of his wayward Childe. "What..." Angel squeaked before he cleared his throat and tried again. "What brings you to LA, Wi...Spike?" he asked, catching himself before calling his Childe Will.

"Will's fine..." came the whispered reply before Spike looked up, his eyes big and vulnerable as he answered the question. "I had this dream, or what I think was a dream, about you. I was a fledge and you came to me, looking like Angelus and I was scared because I'd been beaten. You calmed me down after a bit and you told me...This and because I was knocked unconscious is how I know it was a dream, but...You told me you loved me. And you told me never to forget that." He took in the expression on Angel's face, one of wide-eyed shockconfusionpain and chuckled lowly in self-depreciating humor. "Silly dream, eh?" he asked.

Angel shook his head no and whispered, "You forgot the part where I kissed you, Will."

Spike looked startled for a moment, like the wind had been knocked out of him, and said, "How did you...know about that?"

"It wasn't a dream, Will. It couldn't have been. I was sent back in time by some big blue demon to 'fix a damaged boy'. Imagine my shock when it was you," Angel said softly, stepping closer so they were only a breath away from one another.

Spike had to tilt his head back to stare into Angel's chocolate brown eyes and said in shock, "Big blue demon? Did you by any chance cut his head off before he sent you back in time?" Angel just raised an eyebrow in question at him and Spike whistled low. "That's the kinda demon that was after me tonight, tryin' ta tell me somethin' so I just cut his head off. Then he started chanting in Latin and I woke up cowering in a corner, covered in blood..."

Angel's eyes got even wider, if at all possible and he finally did what he'd been itching to do. He pulled Spike into his arms, holding him close as he whispered, "Don't you see? We were given a second chance. We were given a chance to show how we really felt and try and get what were supposed to have so long ago."

At his words, Spike started struggling against Angel's hold on him, fighting him until he could back away. Once far enough away that Angel couldn't reach out a hand to him, not that he didn't try, Spike turned his back. Angel just looked at him in surprise. Why was he reacting this way? Wasn't that what he wanted? The brunet looked closer at the tense shoulders and noticed now and again the slight tremor running through them, accompanied by an almost inaudible sniffle.

The elder vampire blinked a little and stepped closer, turning the now unresisting blond towards him. His face softened as he took in the sight of the downcast eyes that were slowly leaking tears and whispered, brushing away the tears with the pads of both thumbs, "It'll work out, can't you see that? We were given a _second chance_. That doesn't happen very often."

"No! _You_ don't see! That doesn't happen at _all_! Not to me, at least. Nothing _ever_ goes right for me. You took over as my Sire to care for me because Dru couldn't, no matter how hard she tried and I looked up to you so I thought it would work out. Then you left. You left! What was I supposed to do? You came back and then left again. Left me alone...It _never_ works for me. _Ever_." Spike was panting unnecessarily after his little outburst before he closed his eyes, willing his tears to stay behind his eyes. Naturally, they didn't listen.

Angel's heart cracked a little once more and he held the shaking blond to him, holding him against his chest and whispering, "I can't promise that we'll never have problems. I can't promise that everything will be perfect. Hell, I wouldn't want it to be. But what I _can_ promise is that I will _never_ give up on you." His voice hitched a little as he continued, "Besides...What good would I be if I could give up on the one person that I've _ever_ loved?"

Spike looked up at him then, insecurity and hope warring for dominance in his eyes. "Y-You love me?" he asked.

Angel gave him a watery smile, saying, "Didn't I say that already?"

Spike tilted his head back to look in Angel's eyes, his own darting back and forth between each coffee toned eye as if searching. He found it, it seemed, for he put a hand at the back of his Sire's neck and pulled his head down slowly to connect their lips. It was a kiss almost the same as before. Except...this one had more feeling, if possible. It was just as close mouthed as before, but...it spoke of things neither could find the words to say.

It spoke of Spike's feelings of betrayal for Angel's abandonment. It spoke of Angel's fear of rejection. But most of all, it spoke of a promise. A promise that bound the two vampires together and always would. It spoke of a love found in a dream, hidden behind years of pain, abandonment and seen only once, in blue eyes full up with tears.

Angel broke the kiss almost reluctantly and once more brushed away tears from pale cheeks, even as a second pair of hands did the same to his. "Dry your eyes, Little One," he whispered, holding his boy close to his heart, where he intended for him to stay.

 **The End**


End file.
